Plan International Canada and ‘Power of the Purse’ Charity Event Join Forces with Acclaimed Filmmaker to Empower Women Farmers in Pakistan

Award-winning filmmaker, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinnoy addressed the event.

Plan International Canada andPower of the Purse hosted their annual fundraising event recently to raise awareness and funds to empower women and young girls in developing countries.

The event featured Plan International Canada’s President and CEO, Caroline Riseboro and a Pakistani journalist, filmmaker, and activist, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. Chinoy has won two Academy Awards for the documentaries, Saving Face (2012) and A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015).

Sharmeen talked about an important moment with her father during her teenage years reporting and covering investigative pieces, “He said that if I

George Pimentel Photography

spoke the truth, then he would stand with me – and so would the world. And for a 17-year-old girl growing up in Pakistan, that was a very powerful message to get, because that’s the message that has stayed with me and has allowed me to do the kind of work that I have done… knowing that if I spoke the truth, however hard it would be, someone would always have my back.”

Power of the Purse will draw support for Plan International Canada’s dairy project in Pakistan, which enables women farmers living in poverty to access support and resources to provide for their families and claim their basic rights.

Event founder Sandra L. Pierce, also known as ‘The Bag Lady of Bay StreetTM’ is committed to change the story for Pakistani women by leading the fundraising efforts to help provide opportunities for financial empowerment and improved livelihoods.

Since its inception five years ago, Power of the Purse has raised more than $630,000 for girls and women in developing countries through Plan International Canada’s Because I am a Girl initiative.